New Best Friends
"New Best Friends" is the tenth episode of the seventh season of AMC's The Walking Dead. It is the ninety-third episode of the series overall. It premiered on February 19, 2017. It was written by Channing Powell and directed by Jeffrey January. Plot While searching for a missing Alexandrian, Rick and his group encounter a mysterious collective, its inhabitants unlike any they have come across. Synopsis Ezekiel and his knights rendezvous with the Saviors at an abandoned parking lot. Gavin, the lead Savior, sees their tribute and announces that it looks light. Ezekiel assures him they've met their obligations. Gavin counts the watermelons and admits Ezekiel is right. Jared, the Savior Richard fought during a previous delivery, plants himself obnoxiously close to Richard and demands he hand his weapon over. Richard and Jared draw their guns. Ezekiel and Gavin order their men to stand down. Per Ezekiel's command, Richard relinquishes his weapon. Jared takes the gun and swings it at him, only to be blocked by Morgan's fighting stick. When Jared grabs Morgan's stick and attacks him in turn, Benjamin takes the Savior down. Ezekiel orders them to stop fighting. When the Saviors leave, Jared keeps Morgan's fighting stick. Back at the Kingdom, Ezekiel warns Benjamin against being too eager to fight. In the courtyard, Daryl pulls Morgan aside and admonishes him for putting up with the Saviors. He argues that Carol would want to kill the Saviors if she knew about Glenn and Abraham's deaths. Morgan agrees and adds "that's why she left," still not divulging Carol's whereabouts. In the archery area, Richard practices shooting a bow. He gives Daryl a crossbow and asks him for pointers, explaining that they share the same goal: killing the Saviors. Richard takes Daryl to his hidden camper trailer in the woods. He explains that they have to hit the Saviors first, but in order for that to happen, they need something to move Ezekiel. He stocks up on guns and makes a Molotov cocktail. Richard and Daryl hide behind a cargo trailer alongside the highway. Richard describes his plan to incite war with the Saviors. He intends to ambush them on the road; the Saviors that discover the brutal scene will follow a trail to a weapons cache he planted at a lone woman's cottage. He expects the Saviors will kill the woman, who Ezekiel cares for, thus pushing the king towards war. When pressed, Richard reluctantly reveals that the woman is Carol. At the sound of approaching engines, Daryl wrestles Richard to the ground to keep him from enacting his plan. The Saviors drive by. Daryl refuses to help Richard at Carol's expense and vows to kill him if she gets hurt in any way. Richard says he would gladly give his life for the kingdom, to which Daryl replies "Why don't you?" In the massive junkyard known as The Heaps, its residents (the Scavengers) surround Rick's group. Rick speaks to a woman (Jadis) who is clearly the leader, and asks to see Gabriel, knowing they kidnapped him from Alexandria. Gabriel is brought out. Rick tells the woman that if the survivors are killed, the Saviors will be deprived of their tribute, and come looking for what's theirs. He asks for her help in fighting the Saviors, but she refuses. A fight breaks out between the two groups. Gabriel holds a Heaps resident, Tamiel, at knife point. Gabriel explains that the Scavengers can take the Saviors' food and weapons if they help defeat them. Jadis takes Rick for a walk. Michonne asks a nearby Scavenger where Rick is being taken. The woman points to the top of a trash heap. Jadis tells Rick that he needs to prove his worth, then pushes him down the trash heap. Rick lands in a pit and he's attacked by a walker covered in spiked armor. He struggles against the walker, piercing his hand and leg on its armor. He dislodges a pile of trash onto the walker, then stabs it with a shard of glass, decapitating it. Jadis throws him some rope. Rick climbs the rope to the top of the heap, rejoining Jadis. She agrees to help fight the Saviors in exchange for goods. After some bargaining, they agree on the terms. The Scavengers are to get guns, one-third of the Saviors' supplies and a portion of the goods that they stole from the Alexandria pantry. Rick rejoins his group, and the massive crowd of Scavengers that surrounded them retreats into the Heaps. Outside the Kingdom walls, Ezekiel and Jerry deliver cobbler to Carol's cottage. She accepts it and tells them to go. Carol reads a book in her cottage. She answers a knock at her door: It's Daryl. She hugs him. Daryl claims that he discovered her by chance. Scavengers load the stolen Alexandria supplies into Rick's car. Gabriel thanks Rick for rescuing him, for believing in him and not assuming he stole the supplies from the pantry. He then asks Rick why he smiled, why he was so confident when his group was surrounded at gunpoint. Rick tells him that enemies can become friends. Rosita furiously argues against returning to Alexandria. She believes they should look for guns to fulfill their deal with the Scavengers. Tara points out that Rick and Aaron need medical attention back in Alexandria. Michonne asks Rick if he has any idea where they're going to look for guns. Rick solicits Tara's help, figuring she has roamed the furthest of anyone in the group. She agrees to help but doesn’t mention Oceanside. Before they leave the Heaps, Rick finds a cat statue and gives it to Michonne to replace the one she lost. In her cabin, Carol tells Daryl that she left Alexandria because she didn't want to lose anyone. She no longer wished to kill and she would have if the Saviors killed anyone she loved. She asks if anyone in Alexandria was harmed. Predicting that Carol would seek revenge if she knew about Glenn and Abraham's deaths, Daryl lies and tells her that everyone survived. After they enjoy a quiet dinner, Daryl hugs Carol and leaves the cottage. Back at the Kingdom, Daryl sits by Shiva's cage. He tells Morgan that he knows about Carol. He implores Morgan to convince Ezekiel to join the fight against the Saviors. Morgan refuses. Daryl declares that he's returning to the Hilltop; he's getting ready. The next morning, Morgan watches as Daryl leaves the Kingdom. He looks over and sees Richard standing on a balcony, observing Daryl's exit. Other Cast Co-Stars *Cooper Andrews as Jerry *Daniel Newman as Daniel *Carlos Navarro as Alvaro *Kerry Cahill as Dianne *Jayson Warner Smith as Gavin *Joshua Mikel as Jared *Sabrina Gennarino as Tamiel Uncredited Deaths *Dianne's Sister (Confirmed Fate) *Winslow (Alive, Confirmed Fate) Trivia *First appearance of the Junkyard. *First appearance of Anne. *First appearance of Brion. *First (and last) appearance of Winslow. (Zombified) *The title of the episode, "New Best Friends", comes from Rosita's sacastic response to Tara's question, "Who are these people?". *This episode is 66 minutes long, according to AMC's schedule. **This is the eighth extended episode this season, and the fourteenth extended episode overall. *It is confirmed that Tamiel was the person with the boots who was watching Rick and Aaron from a distance. *This episode marks Seth Gilliam's 25th appearance on the TV Series. **Gilliam is also the first African American male actor to reach 25 episode appearances on the show. *Rick gives Michonne a cat statue to replace the one she lost, a callback to when Michonne obtained a rainbow cat statue in "Clear" and lost it after the events of "Too Far Gone". *This is the second community that has staged a gladiator fight in a walker arena. The first community being Woodbury. Goofs/Errors *When Rick is standing over the Junkyard and smiles, in the background near the top right corner of the screen. There are two filming errors that occur: **A plane can be seen flying in the background, coming from the right to the left. However, it is also interpreted as a bird. **Below the plane, you can see cars driving in the background. **This shot was heavily criticized by viewers and critics for looking "cheap" and "awful" when the use of a green/blue screen was made noticeable when Andrew Lincoln came into the shot. References Category:TV Episodes Category:Season 7 (TV Series) Category:TV Series